


A Camping We Will Go

by ficdirectory



Category: The Fosters (TV 2013)
Genre: Gen, Grief/Mourning, Parent-Child Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-05
Updated: 2014-08-05
Packaged: 2020-01-01 02:19:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18326693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ficdirectory/pseuds/ficdirectory
Summary: A reaction fic to episode 2x08 "Girls Reunited" because we all wanted to see Lena and Jude on that camping trip.





	A Camping We Will Go

“Has anyone else in the family been camping?” Jude asks. It’s weird sitting in the front seat, and having no one else but him and Mama in the car.  
  
“Um,” she says, like she’s thinking. “Other than Mom, I don’t think so.”

“Oh.” Jude says, shrugging. “She could have come with us.”

“Someone needed to stay home and take care of the rest of your brothers and sisters.”

Jude laughs. “They’re old enough. Remember? You left us home before, when you and Mom went on your Babymoon.”

“Yeah, and all of you are still putting your allowance toward that replacement window, Mom and I had to pay for.”

Jude looks down, guilty. “That’s true. It’s probably good she’s there.”

“So, are you looking forward to this trip? We’re almost to school, and then it’s onto the bus with all your friends.”

“Yeah. I’ve got my bag, my sleeping bag, pillow… Are you sure we have enough food? There’s gonna be, like, 60 kids there.” Jude’s eyeing the coolers carefully. He knows what’s in them. He helped pack them.

“You’re always going to have enough, honey, okay? We won’t run out.”

Jude nods, and then turns up the volume on the radio. Just this once it’s kinda cool that Mama’s singing with him to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way. But he hopes she won’t do it in front of his friends.

–

The bus ride is weird, but fun. Weird because he’s still mostly avoiding Connor. Fun because Maddie and Chelsea let him sit with them. They talk about movies and music and don’t talk about Spin The Bottle or how Jude stopped talking for a couple weeks. They’re nice.

At the campsite, Jude has to share a tent with some boys. None of them really want him in theirs. Connor asks if he wants to share his, and Jude agrees. Better to be with someone who protects you even though their dad hates you than with some guys who might shave your eyebrows off in the middle of the night.

Connor knows everything about setting up tents, so they’re done pretty fast. That’s when Jude remembers Mama, and what Mom said about her not doing too much. He remembers when she fainted. So he goes over to see if she needs help setting up her tent.

His mouth falls open because she’s done already.

“How did you do that?” he asks. “It looks better than mine and Connor’s.”

“Magic,” she smiles.

That night, they grill hot dogs and have chips and baked beans. It really is enough. And then they make S'mores, which Jude’s never actually done, but always wanted to. His marshmallow catches on fire like a torch.

When it’s time for bed, he takes the flashlight up to the out house. It’s so gross it makes Jude want to throw up, but he just tries to hold his breath. After, he uses a lot of the hand sanitizer that Mama gave him. It’s called A Walk in the Woods, and she said it was supposed to be ironic.

He stops outside her tent, on the way to his own. Boys are farther away from girls, and Jude’s not sure how he feels about that. Plus, the tents just have zippers. There’s no way to knock. And if they have to hang the food up so bears don’t get it. what’s to stop bears from getting  _them_?

“Mama?”

“Yeah, honey?” she says, forgetting that she promised not to call him any embarrassing nicknames here.

“I just came to say goodnight.”

“Sure. Hey, you wanna say goodnight to Mom? I’m Skyping her now.”

“Night, Mom,” he says, waving.

“Good night, my baby. Sleep tight.” Then the screen goes black.

“What are they doing?” Jude asks. It feels weird being away from them. Especially Callie.

“Well, Brandon’s staying in, and Mariana and Jesus are having a dinner party with Mat and Hayley…”

Jude wrinkles his nose. “Why?”

“I think Mariana likes to be fancy sometimes.”

“Oh. What about Callie?”

“Mom says she went back to visit Girls United this weekend.”

“So ,she can see her friends?”

“I guess so, yeah. Rita’s having a community day, and Callie wanted to help out. You okay?”

“Yeah… It’s just…the tents aren’t very sturdy…”

“They’re supposed to be lightweight, so we can carry them, and so the fresh air can circulate.”

“What about bears? Maddie and Kaitlyn said that’s why we hung the food up so high, right? So…what if they get mad that we hung it and come after us?”

Mama smiles. “The chances of a bear attacking with this many kids? Making all this noise? Slim to none. Bears don’t like noise.”

Jude sighs. “Good. Okay, then. See you in the morning.”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

–

When Jude wakes up the next day, his sleeping bag is wet. So is the tent. He doesn’t even have enough time to be grateful no animals attacked last night.

He gets up and keeps his back to Connor, pulling on clothes and then he steps out, where there’s a breakfast fire going. Mama’s up, drinking coffee, looking out at the water.

Jude sits next to her.

She doesn’t say anything, just shifts and puts her arm around him. Finally she says, “You missed the sunrise.”

He leans against her side, squinting. “It’s too bright.”

“I think it’s beautiful.”

“Everything’s wet,” he grumbles.

“Yeah, that happens.”

“Can I have some coffee?” Jude tries. Coffee usually makes his parents and Callie feel better in the morning. Much less irritated.

“You can have what’s left,” she says, handing him the cup.

There isn’t much, but it’s better than nothing. He drinks it and makes a face. “That’s gross.”

“Hey,” she chides, but Jude knows he isn’t really in trouble. She’s still smiling.

They’re quiet a while, and then Jude asks. “Are you thinking about Frankie?”

Mama turns and looks him right in the eyes. “Yes. Are you?”

“Kinda, yeah. I heard you talking to Mom about the circle of life last night. It made me think of The Lion King and then that Simba lost his dad. And then about Frankie. It’s weird to miss someone I’ve never met. Isn’t it?”

“I don’t think so. No.”

“And, like. I’ve been wondering….when people ask about my family… Do I say I have two brothers and two sisters? Or two brothers and  _three_ sisters? Like… Is there a wrong answer? Would she be sad I’m not counting her?”

Mama blinks back tears. “I don’t think so. No,” she says again.

Then, people start moving around and talking, so Jude stops talking about Frankie. He doesn’t want people asking about her, and he doesn’t want to make Mama sad.

–

All of Saturday is so cool. They go on a nature walk, and then they go swimming. It’s the best day. That night, they have macaroni and cheese for dinner with sandwiches. They have another camp fire. This time, he toasts his marshmallow perfectly.

They tell scary stories that Jude doesn’t believe for a second. He knows the things to be afraid of in life aren’t ghosts or spirits. They’re real things…and real people. But he lets Kaitlyn and Maddie hold his hands because they really are scared, and that’s okay.

On the way to their tents for the night, Jude glances up at the sky. It’s so clear he can see every single star. That gets him thinking of The Lion King again, and that scene where Simba’s dad tells him about the great kings of the past being up there. That makes him think of his and Callie’s mom. And of Frankie. He thinks maybe they’re together. Maybe his mom is taking care of her wherever they are until Mama can get there to do it herself.

He tucks his hand in his pocket and feels the smooth rock he found earlier. And the paper he’d written on. Part of the campfire was for them to find something in nature to give someone else, and tell them something positive that you’d seen them do. Jude drew some kid’s name he didn’t know well, but he found the kid a piece of tree bark and wrote on it that he was good at identifying lots of stuff in nature.

But Jude really wished he had Mama’s name. He found the perfect rock while he was swimming. All smooth, like a wishing stone. He brought a small notebook and a pen, and wrote a note to go with the rock.

_POSITIVE THINGS YOU DID (for Mama)_   
_Thanks for adopting me. Thanks for giving me a safe home and a family. Thanks for sharing your coffee with me. Thanks for letting me talk about Frankie. I think my mom is taking care of her for you. Love, Jude._

When he gives Mama the note, she reads it and cries. She holds the rock tightly.

“Is it okay?” he asks, nervous.

“Oh, honey. I love it. Thank you.”

“I know it’s not like a real present or anything, but I washed the rock a lot, so it’s clean. Even with hand sanitizer.” That makes her laugh, and Jude smiles, too. “Can I sleep in here? It’s weird sharing with Connor,” he confides.

“Sure.”

–

It’s the middle of the night when Jude hears Mama’s phone ring. It’s Mom’s ringtone, and Jude sits up at the same time Mama answers with “What’s wrong?”

Jude can only hear her end, but it sounds bad. He can’t see a clock, but it feels like the middle of the night. It’s a few seconds, and then she says, “Yeah, he’s right here. Jude, Callie wants to say goodnight.”

“ _Jude?_ ” she sounds far away.

“I thought you were sleeping over at Girls United…” he says, rubbing his eyes.

“ _I was, but something happened and we had to leave. I’m okay…I just wanted to hear your voice._ ”

“What happened?” Jude demands. “No more secrets, remember? You promised.”

“… _There was a fire._ ”

Jude swallows. “Swear you’re okay.”

“ _I swear. I’ll Skype Lena tomorrow before you come back so you can see for sure, okay? Now go back to sleep. Love you._ ”

“Okay… Love you…” Jude manages. He’s so tired, he falls back asleep and thinks it may have all just been a dream.

–

Mama texts the second they’re awake so Callie can Skype. They walk far away so they don’t wake anyone else up and so Mama can get a signal. It’s good to see Callie. But it also makes it real. She’s okay, but there really was a fire. She went back inside to help Rita save one of the girls.

Jude is proud of her, and sort of angry, too. Because she put herself in such a dangerous situation and didn’t think of him. What would happen to him if she got trapped or something? He couldn’t lose her, too.

“ _Don’t be upset, okay? I’m fine and it all worked out. I’ll see you as soon as you’re home._ ”

Jude sighs but agrees.

–

The bus ride is long. The kids’ yelling gives him a headache. By the time they get back to Mama’s car in the parking lot at school, all Jude wants to do is sleep.

He’s reaching into his backpack for his I-Pod when he notices something that wasn’t there before. Squinting, he moves it a little. It’s a flower, pressed. And a piece of paper. He keeps it hidden, and reads it while it’s still in the bag. It’s obviously from Mama - it’s her handwriting.

It says:

_Dear Jude,_   
_You have done so many positive things on this trip, but let me list a few: You’ve been respectful, you’ve shared your feelings with me, and you’ve tried new things. I love you. Love, Mama_

He doesn’t say anything, but falls asleep feeling better than he did before, and remembering the most important things:

Callie is okay.

He has a family.

And he is loved.


End file.
